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The City of Irving broke ground on a new library at Schulz Drive and Second Street. It's part of the city's effort to make sure every resident lives within four miles of the library. (Published Friday, Feb 15, 2013)

Updated at 5:31 PM CDT on Friday, Feb 15, 2013

South Irving will soon have the largest and most high-tech library in the city.

"We have the tables that a series of kids can work on that are computerized, we have computerized walls, we have all the tools that they need today to technologically move into the future," Councilwoman Rose Cannaday said.

City leaders and students celebrated the groundbreaking of the library, which will be located at Schulze Drive and Second Street.

Like the West Irving Library, the new facility will be eco-friendly and efficient. More than 52,000 square feet of space will feature convertible bookshelves and multiple meeting rooms, phasing out the aging Central Library just down the street.

Library Director Chris Dobson said almost 1 million people visited the city's libraries last year. She said she hoped building a modern facility like the South Irving Library will attract even more visitors and provide services that residents have been asking for.

"We're putting a lot more emphasis on teens than we did 30 years ago, so the teens will have their own facility," she said. "It'll have a lot of electronics because that's the kind of thing that they're using."

The city's goal is to have a library within four miles of every home.

Susan Michel said the new library will give her and her family an opportunity to continue learning at all ages.

"It's also a way for us to learn English," she said. "That's how I learned. Going to the libraries, get books, and little kids can do that and grown-ups do that, as well."